Introducing Project Manager Alpha

Alpha Beretay runs Prosper's training programmes in Sierra Leone. He has a wealth of experience.

Alpha is founder and director of A World Institute for Sustainable Humanity

“When you empower one woman, you have empowered a whole nation,” said Alpha Beretay, founder and director of A World Institute for Sustainable Humanity (AWISH), which operates in eastern Sierra Leone. AWISH is a charity that delivers business training for women on behalf of Prosper.

Sierra Leone ranks among the poorest countries in the world. In many of its rural areas, women are the primary providers for their families, often relying on small-scale trading. These women frequently lack access to education and the skills necessary to make their businesses sustainable.

The training Alpha’s team delivers is designed to make long-lasting changes. “We try to turn their minds away from financial dependency,” Alpha said. Unlike many NGOs that offer short-term financial aid, AWISH focuses on long-term sustainability through knowledge, a model that has shown impressive results: “80% of the women are able to improve their businesses without us giving them finance.”

The training and the related savings bank system is specifically designed for women who have little or no formal education.

“For the savings banks, we let them choose a symbol and a colour system where a colour represents a different denomination in the currency,” Alpha explained, referring to the unique savings method that enables even non-literate women to track their earnings and savings confidently, an empowering step toward financial control.

This methodology contrasts with the standard NGO practice of using written passbooks, which often exclude women who cannot read.

The effects of the training are visible and tangible. “We have seen participants adding products to their businesses,” Alpha said. “Before the training, they were involved in small-scale business, but after, some of them own multiple businesses.”

For women who once struggled just to get by, these changes represent more than income, they signify hope, autonomy, and stability for their families.

Alpha added: “Some women don’t know how to get started with a business and some are involved in small businesses that need improvement. We have created our programmes to help them. We know it makes a huge difference to the women, their families and the communities where they live.”